Briefly Noted

CITY CHOREOGRAPHER: Lawrence Halprin in Urban Renewal America By Alison Blick Hirsch GFA’05 Gr’08 GLA’11 (University of Minnesota Press, 2014, $30.00.) The late Lawrence Halprin Hon’90 was one of the most prolific and influential landscape architects of the 20th century, and he changed our ideas about urban landscapes. The workshops organized by Halprin and his wife, the renowned dancer and choreographer Anna Halprin, produced “scores” that informed his striking environmental designs and brought an openness to the field. Hirsch, an assistant professor of architecture at USC, did much of her research as a graduate student working at Penn’s Architectural Archives, which has an extensive collection of Halprin’s papers. Buy this book

CELEBACIES: American Modernism & Sexual Life By Benjamin Kahan G’04 Gr’08 (Duke University, 2013, $23.95.) Focusing on a wide range of authors, artists, and social activists, Kahan (assistant professor of English and women’s and gender studies at Louisiana State University) tracks the history of modern celibacy, and in doing so reconsiders the very nature of sexuality. Buy this book

PEDESTRIANISM: When Watching People Walk Was America’s Favorite Spectator Sport By Matthew Algeo C’88 (Chicago Review Press, 2014, $24.95.) In the 1870s and 1880s, working-class people flocked to sold-out arenas to see which pedestrian could walk the farthest over six straight days (often 500 miles or more). Algeo, a reporter and author of several books, gives the first detailed look at this forgotten sport, and examines how pedestrianism’s scandals (such as doping, gambling, and riots) still resonate in today’s corporate sports industry. Buy this book

THE SOCIAL CLIMBER’S BIBLE By Dirk Wittenborn C’72 and Jazz Johnson (Penguin, 2014, $20.00.) Though many would cherish the opportunity to rub shoulders with their favorite celebrity or successful entrepreneur—or to network with their boss’s boss—social climbing does carry a stigma that can hinder that ascent to the top. Wittenborn, a filmmaker and producer, and Johnson (his niece, an heiress who has seen it all) wryly show how to master the art of social climbing—and let go of shame. Buy this book

NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD: Addressing Gaps in Global Policy and Research Edited by Louis Galambos and Jeffrey L. Sturchio Gr’81 (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013, $34.95.) Noncommunicable diseases cause roughly two-thirds of deaths worldwide, with 80 percent of these deaths occurring in developing countries. Sturchio (president and CEO of Rabin Martin, a global health-strategy firm) and Galambos examine issues pertinent to the prevention and treatment of diabetes, cancers, cardiovascular disease, and other noncommunicable diseases in lower- and middle-income countries. They also outline areas where policy implementation will be most effective. Buy this book

LOVING THE SUN: Exposed Without Fear By Sydney P. Waud C’63 (BookCrafters, 2013, $18.75.) Each year 300 million people vacation to the tropics in search of sunny warmth and tans, but overexposure to the sun can cause numerous health problems. Waud’s handbook provides tips for enjoying the outdoors safely and insuring healthier and younger-looking skin. Buy this book

SABOTAGE By Matt Cook (Forge, 2014, $25.99.) In this thriller by a doctoral candidate in economics at Penn, an extortionist code-named Viking controls a dangerous weapons technology that could alter the international balance of power. It will take a doctoral candidate, a team of fellow grad students, and one ex-Air Force combat weatherman to derail this potentially disastrous plot. Buy this book

ALTERNATIVE NORTH AMERICAS: What Canada and the United States Can Learn from Each Other By David T. Jones C’63 G’64 Gr’80 (The Wilson Center, 2014, free e-book.) Since 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq, relations between Canada and the United States have slowly deteriorated. Jones, a former US foreign-service officer and the author of Uneasy Neighbo(u)rs, explores the growing—and increasingly problematic—differences between the two countries. Free PDF

THE BARTLETT BOOK OF GARDEN ELEMENTS: A Practical Compendium of Inspired Designs for the Working Gardener By Michael Valentine Bartlett C’76 & Rose Love Bartlett (David R. Godine, Publisher, 2014, $40.00.) The late Michael Bartlett and his wife, Rose, were partners in landscaping, and as they gave lectures on gardening history, they brought together the best ornamental solutions to completing a garden. Each of the 20 chapters in this handsomely illustrated reference book addresses a different garden structure and its history. Buy this book